On Modelling and Control of Pantograph Catenary Systems

The paper describes modelling and control techniques studied and applied to selected pantograph-catenary (PAC) systems. The work has been co-funded by the European Union under the ERDF project: ‘PAntograph-Catenary Interaction Framework for Intelligent Control’ (PACIFIC). Mechanical models of PAC systems are implemented in MATLAB using novel techniques, where applicable. Next, important physical phenomena affecting the reliability of power collection using PAC systems are considered: electrical arcing and thermal effects are both modelled. A range of control systems are then implemented within selected PAC model simulations: Linear Matrix Inequalities (LMI), and ‘crisp’ and ‘fuzzy’ versions of PID controllers are tested. MATLAB is used extensively. All of the PAC system and controller pairings are found to perform well in their chosen implementations, preparing the way for future extension of the PACIFIC project work into the non-linear domain using non-linear fuzzy controllers.